Under the Courier Low Value Shipment (CLVS) program, shipments valued at less than $1,600 Canadian and carried by an approved courier (there are presently ten) are delivered to the consignee without a formal release but must be accounted for to Customs within a specified time frame. All participants in the CLVS program must meet these timeframes.

The current process is that we receive on a daily basis a “courier consist document” which provides us with certain shipment data elements and commercial invoices. Within 5 days of receiving this document we must advise the courier if we are not going to account for the goods. After FIVE days we must account for the goods (on behalf of the importer).

All shipments released during the month must be accounted for by the 20th of the following month and transmitted to the CBSA by the 24th. Shipments that are not accounted for within these timeframes may be subject to late accounting penalties and/or importers can be removed from this program.

The CBSA is in the process of implementing two new initiatives that will have a direct impact on the CLVS program in 2012...


CBSA’s Assessment and Revenue Management (CARM) initiative is the new accounting system being adopted by Customs and will be in place by 2013. This is a five year enhancement of all the agency's accounting systems that will result in streamlining the timeframes for both CLVS and HVS shipments.

Once implemented, customs brokers will have to account for the CLVS shipments that are released in the month by the 9th of the following month. To meet this new deadline we will be transmitting the entries to the CBSA on the 4th or 5th of the following month.

As this amounts to a 13 day reduction in the shipment processing timeframe from the current arrangement, it will be imperative for us to work even more closely with you in order to meet the new Customs accounting deadlines and avoid unnecessary penalties.


The second major CBSA initiative currently underway that you should be aware of is an ongoing Customs Audit of various couriers  involved in the CLVS program.

The scope of this audit is to ensure that Importers/Brokers are complying with the applicable timeframes and that all shipments are being properly accounted for.

As part of the audit program, the CBSA will be selecting samples of shipments that have already cleared and verifying with the receiver of the goods that the value used for accounting purposes is the same as that actually paid for the goods (in cases where a commercial transaction is involved).

If there is a breach of any of these two regulatory areas detected by Customs, AMPS penalties will apply.


With these new initiatives and the threat of AMPS penalties involved, we strongly encourage you work closely with our group to comply with the applicable timeframes for accounting and returns to the courier. As always, we are here to help you meet these challenges in any way possible.